When I was young child, I lived in Jersey City, New
Jersey, a large city of 250,000 people. The summers were long, hot, humid with few choices
for youngsters to pass the time. Out of necessity, my friends and I became quite creative
in finding entertaining ways to occupy our days. In addition to playing hard, stoop and
stick ball, touch football, etc., I recall sitting in the hallway, on the top floor of a
four-story brownstone tenement railroad apartment building, playing the boardgame, Risk.

Risk is a game of strategy where the decision to
take chances, though at times risky, could lead to capturing the opponent's land, thus
gaining strategic advantage. I never liked the game of Risk as it appeared to me very
early on, that the point in playing was to always come out on top over one's opponents. To
win meant to take over and rule.

While not liking the game of Risk, it did give me an
initial glimpse into the reasons why people take risks. Subsequently, I learned through
life experience, that taking risks  to make a point, take a stand, achieve a greater
good, or right a wrong  built character and often had positive outcomes for the
individual and society. Little risks taken with the consequences of failure, build
stamina. Little risks, taken with the consequences of success, build confidence and
prepare us for the next inevitable round of risk taking.

Daily

All of us take risks every day. We risk our safety
every time that we drive or travel in a vehicle. Some would say (contrary to statistics)
that flying in an airplane is more risky than driving, yet, millions of people fly every
year. Our homes are full of risk. The shower, for example, is the place where most
accidents happen.

Skiing, bungee jumping, scuba diving, sky diving,
car racing, horse and motorcycle riding, hang gliding, etc. are risky activities. Yet,
thousands, if not millions, of people routinely participate in these activities.
Childbirth, surgery and associated anesthesia and medication have their risks as well.
Certainly, people who choose to smoke knowingly take risks. The same may be said for
investors entrusting their funds to others in the hopes of making a profit and of not
losing their money. It seems that the taking risks is a very common event. It is.

Like everything else in life, there are levels of
risk. Just as there are few absolutes, areas of black and white in human existence, being
shades of gray instead, risk is neither all or none. If something were all risk and no
benefit, then one would be either foolish or completely uninformed about participating in
the activity. On the other hand, if a decision had no associated risk at all, then it
would not be a risk but rather a forgone conclusion.

Some Risk Takers

I see in my mind images of people who have made
lasting impressions on the world through taking risks. A picture that comes to mind is the
individual, lone student in Tianamen Square, standing by himself in front of a long line
of Army tanks, stopping them in their tracks. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King come to
mind. Consider Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, who almost thirty years
ago went to the moon aboard Apollo XI, and two of whom walked upon it. Christa McAuliffe,
the high school teacher from New Hampshire, who took the risk and lost her life partaking
in her dream to travel in space. Then there is Ghandi, whose risk to embrace nonviolent
peaceful confrontation, led to the independence of India and inspiration to tens of
millions.

While many of these risk takers seem to have been
involved in big, Earth shaking events, that is a view predicated by hindsight. When we
look back, it appears the risk takers were monumentally large and courageous people
willing to do anything for their cause. I believe, however, that while special, these
people were very much like you and me. It is simply the context within which their risk
was taken and the impending, previously unanticipated, consequences that elevate the event
to a particular stature. I'm not suggesting that there are not risks taken for political
purposes as strategy, hoping to achieve a desired outcome. Surely, that happens. I am
merely pointing out that progress, innovation, justice and freedom are obtained through
risk taking by common people who daily awake, go to work, do or do not raise families,
have dinner, argue and sleep...people like you and me.

The Big One

Perhaps, once in a while, once in a lifetime, there
may come about an event or situation that is of such grave importance that taking a risk
places us in obvious severe danger, where ample time and thought are necessary in order to
make the correct decision. The danger which follows may be life threatening and
counterbalanced by the good that is the consequence of the risk taking. The event may be
spontaneous or premeditated. For example, a person may dive into water in order to save a
drowning person without much time to think about taking the risk. At the opposite end of
the spectrum may be the decision to become a living related organ donor.

For JeanneE and me, this is something we have done.
Ever since our son's birth in October 1985, JeanneE met the challenge of improving Dylan's
health by deciding she would be his kidney donor when the need came. She went through many
of the tests (which had risks of their own) only to reach the place a few days before the
series of surgeries were about to take place, of being ruled out as a donor. There was an
anomaly in a blood test which indicated that her kidney would be rejected. Thus, events
took place where I was in the position to be the donor.

What followed was a five-week preparatory process of
constant decision making. Decisions to proceed, take tests, and finally to donate. In
April, 1991, I donated a kidney to our son, Dylan (age 5), who today is as healthy as one
could hope for, given his prior condition of chronic renal insufficiency. The greatest
risk for a living related kidney donor is death from general anesthesia. This became
obviously clear during counseling and through the signing of release statements. Perhaps,
the decision to be a living related donor will be the most important and risky decision I
will ever make.

Why then is it so difficult for us to make choices
which involve taking a stand on issues we believe deep down inside are right? Why do so
many of us stay silent and keep quiet when we witness racism, sexism, oppression or
injustice? Is it that we are afraid of taking risks? Or something else?

No Action - Still
Risky

Let us for a moment not become bogged down in the
nature of a particular position. There are many sides to most issues. People on any side
of an issue can ask themselves the same questions: When do I take a stand? Do I
take a stand? Or, do my sensitivities have to be pressed so far, that my response comes at
a time when I am no longer clearly in command of consciously taking a risk, but rather
responding out of ego-driven self-preservation behavior?

Perhaps, not taking risks over a course of time,
lulls us into complacency. It is after all the path of least resistance, requiring very
little effort in getting along with others. It is safe, comfortable, rocks the boat not at
all. It is, in itself, however, a behavior not without risk. Taking no action at all, is
in effect, making the decision to do nothing - which in itself has some risk.

In 1992, when the events at Tianamen Square, were
quickly unfolding, I asked an administrator whether or not the institution should take
some action, a teach-in, a special program, assembly or event to draw attention to the
denial of freedom and democracy to the students in China. I was told that nothing need be
done as President Bush knows what he is doing. It was a safe position to take. Very little
took place on our campus, and as far as I could tell, anywhere else. I have often wondered
where did the student voices on our college campuses? JeanneE and I did choose to fly
flags with the Chinese characters for "freedom" from the antennas of our cars
and to talk about the events.

Another example that comes to mind is the Persian
Gulf War. What exactly was that about? Did anyone question the military-censored media
coverage of the war? Was it a war? Another police action? There was so much patriotic
fervor going on at the time that few people dared to take the risk and ask, "What is
really going on here?"

JeanneE and I made the decision to question what we
were being told. We talked about and asked our friends, acquaintances and coworkers, to
give some consideration to the reasons for their so enthusiastically supporting this
latest military action. Most people did not even know what or where Kuwait was. Even fewer
knew about its history and the events leading up to the conflict.

The mere act of questioning our friends and our
community, of not going along with the tide - wearing a yellow ribbon, or suggesting that
the war was wrong brought about quite a response.

JeanneE was ostracized at work. Coworkers would not
talk to her. I on the other hand, had "one" coworker who with me spent an hour
or two with picket signs at a public place protesting war with Iraq. The following Monday,
I received a message which in effect said that if I were to do that again, the sender
would "shoot me and throw me in the creek." These are quite severe consequences
for the taking of such small risk. Could it be that these are the reasons why people no
longer take the risks for standing up to what they believe is right? I do not think so.

Risk and Comfort

I believe that there is another, much more ominous,
self-imposed philosophy at work. It comes about from our acceptance of feeling good and
our routine pleasure of maintaining present risk-free comfort levels. While we claim to be
a democratic country, it appears that maintaining the status quo through perceived
risk-free inaction has displaced direct participation in democracy.

We would rather not risk alienating our friends and
neighbors than to say what we think or believe. We would rather grumble to ourselves, surf
the sports channels or watch the soaps, than to become active in trying to make the
community or the society a better place. We would rather protect our pension funds and our
comfortable life style rather than take a stand on whatever issue might jeopardize the
profit margin. We have, in fact, sold out. Not only have we sold out our individuality,
beliefs and power, we have sold down the river the democracy that we so presumably
cherish.

Democracy thrives on controversy, debate and action.
Controversy spurs action. Action can be risky. Risk and debate strengthen democracy. Since
when did it become a negative to call, discuss and debate inequity? Why have many of us
become so complacent, accepting the status quo, not challenging injustice nor standing up
for the civil liberties we profess to cherish so much?

I believe that we have accepted a lifestyle with
little will for risk taking. What we might not realize is that by doing so, we abrogate
the right to the same freedoms that we claim to cherish and may insist still exist. Many
people do not participate in democracy, not because they think it risky, but because they
think it makes no difference  risky for democracy.

The Risk of Golfing

I have noticed that people would rather talk about
sports, golf, gardening, hunting, bingo, Paula Jones, television or the weather, rather
than topics of substance. One can make the argument that discussing these subjects is
"substantive". However, when they become the sole dialogue between people, they
become an expression of numbness and an indicator of our inability to take risk and have
meaningful constructive dialogue. There seems to a fear that a good give-and-take dialogue
necessarily leads to taking offense, staking ground and retaliation. Sad.

There is another phenomenon I wish to approach. That
is, the retraction by the status quo. Should a sensitive cord be touched by a risk taker,
the uncomfortable party often either avoids the situation altogether or responds with
out-of-proportion attack. It is almost as if dialogue becomes abandoned, being replaced by
either total withdrawal or retaliation with very little in-between. Maintaining the status
quo is living within the comfort zone. When we have much to lose, we choose to lose
little.

There is little to lose when discussing the PGA golf
tournament or Tiger Woods' performance in the Masters over lunch. Bring up the subject
however, of Tiger Woods going on the road in order to make $40-million over five years
promoting Nike products  the same Nike company that exploits child labor in Vietnam
and Indonesia...well, the stakes change. The conversation turns risky. Golf is risky
business.

From time-to-time, I have used the Kris
Kristofferson line, "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose". For
the sake of this discussion, I might rephrase the line to read, "Loss of freedom is
just another phrase for nothing left to risk."

4th Grade Risk

In Ridgewood, N.J., fourth grade students thought
that they could make a difference. Along with their teacher, they decided to put together
a play about Nike, Walt Disney, and McDonald products with their free giveaway toys. The
play included material about the sweatshops that produce many of the items. After months
of study, reading and discussion, the class determined that the emphasis of the play would
be on the conditions in the factories. One skit was set in the McDonald's Happyland Toy
Factory in Vietnam.

The principal canceled the performance just before
the final dress rehearsal stating that the play was not "age appropriate" and
that the students could not understand nor grasp the issues. Evelyn Knives, reporting the
story for a local newspaper wrote,

Even in Ridgewood, consistently described as having
one of the best school districts in the United States, it could be argued that
10-year-olds still learning long division can't understand the complexities of corporate
exploitation of labor.

Would one dare risk to ask whether these same
children are taught the complex issues revolving around slavery and civil war? Would they
not also be too young to understand the issues? While it might not be risky to produce a
play about slavery, it might be quite another thing to produce a play depicting the
founding fathers as rich land owners who themselves owned and exploited slaves. Students
acting as slaves might be permissible though portraying Thomas Jefferson as a slave master
might not (though he was).

For all their inability to understand the Nike
sweatshop issue, one student - Han Park - said,

I know what's going on out there. These workers are
not being treated as humans. They're like dolls being bitten by dogs who are the bosses.

On July 1, 1997, the Campaign for Labor Rights
reported,

L.V. Myles (one of the Disney Company's main
sourcing agents in Haiti) operates an apparel assembly plant in the so-called 'Industrial
Park' in Port-au-Prince, a defacto free trade zone. This factory employs over one thousand
workers. Along with 13 other factories in Haiti producing garments under various Disney
labels, L.V. Myles pays its workers about half the minimum living wage in Haiti. With
salaries ranging from 28c to 39c an hour (from $11.20 to $15.60 per week!) workers are
forced to produce at an inhuman rate, under constant verbal abuse and threats of being
laid-off or fired. The majority of workers are women and they are also victims of constant
sexual harassment and abuse from their supervisors.

Perhaps, if we offered a larger audience, on
the order of Madison Square Garden or the Albert Hall, for these children to perform their
play, more people would become prone to risk-taking action. We might even decide to
boycott Nike, McDonald's and Disney. But, I am getting carried away, that is asking for
far too much.

Courage

In the Native American story told by Hyemeyohsts
Storm in the book Seven Arrows, a mouse is distracted from his regular daily busy work by
a sound of the unknown. It takes courage for the mouse to investigate the sound. It takes
 taking a risk. Jumping Mouse takes risks and finds creative ways to alter his life.
He takes the journey and becomes anything he wants to be. He becomes the best that he can
be.

The sounds that we hear from time-to-time just might
be the noise someone is making while taking a risk. Maybe, we might listen for a while. If
what we hear places us on guard, making us uncomfortable, then possibly, this might be a
signal for us to be courageous and pay attention a little longer. This might be an
opportunity to set aside comfort, take a journey and become a little bit better than we
are.

14th Festival of
Youth

Over the past five or six months, I have been
talking about, writing, discussing, debating with our family, friends and within my own
mind attending, with our daughter, the 14th Festival of Youth and Students to be held in
Havana, Cuba from July 27 - August 6. I must admit to being part of the larger United
States society who has been fed and indoctrinated with negative images of Cuba and its
leader for so long that we no longer are able to separate fact from rhetoric. There is
after all, a 34 year trade embargo against the island. Yet, there is that noise in the
background that keeps calling. It seems to say, "Find out for myself. Take the
journey and see."

I have the opportunity of attending the conference, studying science
and technology issues and partaking in a special course as part of a doctoral program in
Communications Technology and Distance Education. Most importantly, I have the possibility
of listening, like the mouse, listening to the distracting sound of the unknown. Perhaps,
it is time to take the risk.

Quotes

Art is unthinkable without risk and spiritual
self-sacrifice.

Boris Pasternak

And I honor the man who is willing to sink
Half his present repute for the freedom to think,
And, when he has thought, be his cause strong or weak,
Will risk t' other half for the freedom to speak.

James Russell Lowell

If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely
meant for us to stick it out.

Arthur Koestler

All inquiries carry with them some element of risk. There is no
guarantee that the universe will conform to our predispositions.

Carl Sagan

Reform implies risk, but risks are better than not
doing anything. I prefer the risk of reform to the risk of inactivity.

Carlos Salinas de Gortari

Historically, risk-takers are people who shatter the illusion of
knowledge. They are willing to try something that everyone thinks is outrageous or stupid.